I have finally completed my new book!
This new book is entitled: A Philosophical Approach to Playing the Piano.
***
As a new piano
student or progressing beginner, you are confronted by a myriad of learning
options in the form of books, DVDs, YouTube videos and all the different
approaches and personalities of private teachers. This can be overwhelming and in some way have
a negative effect on your piano education.
It is recommended to study one method fully before moving on to the next,
much in the same way as it is to fully exhaust a private teacher until you feel
that no more can be garnered from them for your particular needs. In this way, you receive a diverse education
but never confuse methods, tips, advice or recommended repertoire.
By extension,
it can be said that there is not one absolute Golden Rule to playing the piano
since everybody learns differently and has a different idea of what ‘good’
means in terms of being a musician. What
we thus get is a pool, of pianists in our case, all thinking that their method
of learning was best and/or that their pianism is more ‘correct’ than others.
This is a tragic situation.
This is a tragic situation.
As you progress
through this book, as well as the accompanying videos online if you wish, do
not compare my philosophical approach to, mix it with, learn it alongside, rave
about or stick only to over all others.
Some people will detest my philosophy, others (as has been proved almost daily
since I started the videos online in both the jazz and piano beginner spheres)
will adore it and connect wholeheartedly.
I trust you to be the latter!
My method comes
from my own studies of Liszt, his students’ diaries, private letters,
literature written by people who met him all but once and, of course, my own
experiences, realisations and discoveries as a pianist over almost two
decades. It is honest, personal and, to
my mind, very, very unique for the simple reason that, if I may just this once
compare with other pianistic options, it is written from one human with
positive intentions to another, You, rather than one company and multiple
authors, to a buyer, You, a mere number on a monthly sales sheet with no
emotional connection, interest in progress or desire to interact whatsoever.
Each chapter
title, plus the three main focus points under each, has been targeted for your
progressive benefit. Simply by looking
at the titles, you may have come to realise that I do not focus only on theory
or the fingers but quite significantly on the mind or mental approaches.
This is what
makes studying with me quite unique; not only will you learn the same knowledge which is available online (and
for which reason I do not discuss it excessively, instead passingly pointing it
out in the hope that you will go to much richer resources far beyond the scope
of this book to expand your theoretical knowledge), you will primarily develop
confidence, be encouraged and truly believe in You as a pianist without
technical boundaries or physical limitations and as a result, become an
exceptional, Purposeful Pianist… in ten lessons.
In ten lessons? Unfortunately, despite the lessons/chapters
being 30-60 minutes in length, this does not
mean, by any means whatsoever, that you will become a pianist in ten, hour-long
lessons. What this means is that you
will become a pianist in ten lessons as
long as you spend at least 1-2 weeks practising, to a very fluent level,
everything I discuss, recommend or do, and complement this with your own
reading of musical theory using software, other videos online or purchasing
exercise books.
The chapter titles are as follows:
Chapter
1 – Becoming an Excellent Adult Learner
Chapter
2 – Getting Your Bearings
Chapter 3 – Ways of Playing Notes
Chapter 4 – Signatures and Circles
Chapter 5 – Chordially Yours
Chapter 6 – Putting It All Together
Chapter 7 – Memorising Songs Quickly
Chapter 8 – Playing the Blues
Chapter 9 – Lessons from Liszt
Chapter 10 – Going Further
Chapter 3 – Ways of Playing Notes
Chapter 4 – Signatures and Circles
Chapter 5 – Chordially Yours
Chapter 6 – Putting It All Together
Chapter 7 – Memorising Songs Quickly
Chapter 8 – Playing the Blues
Chapter 9 – Lessons from Liszt
Chapter 10 – Going Further
